What’s really going on here?! I ask myself this exact question pretty much every day. But, let’s stick to the topic here! What’s going on with your eating habits? What’s going on with you being stuck in this rut of “I’ll start my diet on Monday” excuse? Harassment. Does this word mean anything to you? Wikipedia defines it for us. Harassment covers a wide range of offensive behavior. It is commonly understood as behavior intended to disturb or upset. Do you consider it upsetting or disturbing when you can’t stop thinking about what you’re going to eat next? Once you’ve decided what you’re going to eat next, does it leave you with this depressed, gross, fattening feeling deep down inside? It shouldn’t. We aren’t meant to be chased around all day by the orange monster that tempts us with foods that are not good for us.

Yeah, I understand just like the next person that eating healthy isn’t always convenient. But, don’t you know that we crave what we eat? If you fill yourself up with cookies and ice-cream, you’re going to constantly crave that type of food to satisfy you. Lysa touches on a great point here in this chapter. “The answer will never be found in only learning to modify my choices. Choosing better foods is certainly a part of this journey. However, simply telling me to eat healthier foods that will help me feel full longer doesn’t address the heart of the matter. I can feel full after a meal and still crave chocolate pie for dessert.” So, what on earth is going on here?!?! God made us to crave, y’all….Psalm 84:1-2 – How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Does this sound like your version of worship towards food? It should not. God wants us to crave Him!!! Only Him! 1 John 2:15-16 : Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father, but from the world. “…I realized how intentionally Satan chooses his tactics. He knows where we are weak. He desires to lure us away from God. And he knows what works…the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has or does.” Satan used all three of these things on Eve in the garden. Genesis 3:6 – When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. Lysa also points out that in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was lead by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. It lasted forty days and forty nights. The tempter kept provoking Jesus telling him that if He was the Son of God, that He should tell stones to become bread. Jesus told him that “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” I can’t even begin to imagine how hungry Jesus had to be, yet He took a stand against His physical cravings for food and relied on his spiritual obedience to God. How awesome is our God? Seriously! I have had days where everything and everyone wants a piece of my time, and I just never get around to eating because there just isn’t enough time. Well, after one of these crazy busy days, I’ll come home and be STARVED! That is ONE day…not even a full one, without me having something to eat. Kudos to Jesus who stood His ground. We should be just like Him…seeking God over our wants and desires that are not pleasing to Him. “We consume what we think about. And what we think about can consume us if we’re not careful.” Lysa asks you and me, the reader of Made to Crave, a very important question: “Cravings. Are they a curse or a blessing?” She goes on to tell us that it all depends on what we are craving. And, what we are craving will always depend on what whatever we are consuming…the object of our desire or God and His truth? I have learned to starve the want of unhealthy choices so that I can be consumed with God.1 Corinthians 10:23-- Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial. Try turning to this verse whenever your favorite junk food is screaming your name. I know you’re probably thinking that it’s easier said than done, but you’re wrong. You CAN overcome this battle, but only with the help of God’s word.“I know it’s a battle, sister. But we aren’t rendered powerless. The more saturated we are with God’s truth, the more powerfully resistant we become.”Much Love,Hannah

So true, Hannah Banana! I have been turning to "everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial" in a lot of different ways since I heard Lysa focus on it on KLove. It really puts everything in perspective! Instead of thinking, "I can't have this" or "I can't do this," we have the power to think... "i could totally do this, but it's not going to benefit my life, my body, my WHATEVER, so I won't." it changes everything! Thank you for this post. Love you!

Reply

Hannah

1/25/2011 11:02:17

Yep...EVERYTHING is permissible, but its not always beneficial. I really didnt want to go to class today...I could have skipped, but that wouldn't have helped me on the test and with my final grade in the class! :) Thank the Lord that He strengthens us to make the right decisions even though they are hard! He has our back! Love you too booger boo!